MacKillop

MacKillop College

‘The benefits of the sustainability projects in storm water capture and solar generation are on many levels. On a purely practical and financial basis, there is potentially a very substantial saving through reduced use of potable water for non-drinking purposes and through solar generation of power which can be returned to the grid. These savings are long term and substantial.

Of more value though is the opportunity to integrate the projects into our curriculum. There are many contact points – in pure science, Environmental Science, SOSE, Mathematics, Civics and Religious Education – and, once again, these opportunities are long term, substantial and very important.

Education is for life, so the consciousness raising that is a spin off for all students as well as staff and parents helps understanding of the potential of renewable energies and of careful and clever use of scarce and valuable natural resources. Without the actions of highly skilled, community-minded and committed people of vision like Corey Peterson, these projects would not have eventuated.

Craig Deayton, Principal, MacKillop College, Tasmania

The following description of MacKillop College's environmental sustainability program is written by Corey Peterson, Network Manager and Sustainability Promoter at the College.

Recognising the critical sustainability issues facing humanity on many levels, MacKillop College began a whole-of-school sustainability effort with changes to the physical environment, curriculum themes, and community outreach to instil in our students concepts of sustainable living and environmental stewardship as well as motivate our alumni, parents and friends, and the broader community.

Our motto, “Catch it if you can!!” and logo (pictured here), encompasses rainwater, solar energy, threatened cultures, food, restoring native habitats, and recognising “waste” as a resource.Led by our Sustainability Promoter, Corey Peterson, over the past two years, students and staff have identified areas where we could incorporate sustainability measures within our school activities and have started work putting our activities into a school environmental management plan (SEMP) based on the AusSSI template with major objectives including:

decrease our consumption of community potable water supplies

decrease our paper consumption

undertake appropriate landscaping and re-vegetation efforts on campus and within the community

generate electricity through solar energy

recognise and embrace indigenous culture

increase recycling participation

increase connections with animals and food production

publicise our efforts to spread the sustainability message to the larger community

Through a variety of specific projects, we have saved over 200,000 sheets of paper annually (20% reduction), are on track to save 1.2 mega litres of water (24% reduction) and $600 annually in electricity costs (at current prices) through installation of Tasmania’s first school grid-connected photovoltaic array (solar panels), our Animal Studies goats were also the 2007 Royal Hobart Show champions!

In addition to native plantings on campus and in community outreach efforts on the Bellerive foreshore and at Seven Mile Beach, we are also establishing a Reconciliation Garden with significant design input and donation of a sculpture from the Aboriginal community.

Our efforts are helping to create a critical mass wherein incorporation of sustainability principles in our daily lives will become second-nature for everyone whether through active involvement in our program or via passive absorption by being surrounded by such efforts. This outcome could reverberate into the next generation as our students participate in real-world solutions to current local and global challenges.

We see being early adopters in the education sector as necessary to these or other solutions becoming commonplace over time. Direct measurement of pages of paper used, kilowatt hours produced, and litres of water used will all be accomplished regularly by students and staff with results reported back to the school community through classroom projects, newsletter articles, participation in conferences, and via our website.

Committing direct funding and labour costs to implementing physical installations such as water tanks, solar panels, native gardens, an animal shed and food garden at MacKillop College will inspire and inform our community for many years as well as provide impetus for ongoing efforts within the College itself.

For more information contact our Sustainability Promoter, Corey Peterson on 03-6245-0099 or go to MacKillop College’s sustainability webpage (currently under construction): seeing what is possible, students and staff are keen for more, so watch this space for more exciting projects in the future!